Panic Attack
by blurrygraylines
Summary: I was Wally West, Kid Flash. My friends always saw me as the unshakable, immature speedster. That was true, sometimes. Sometimes there were moments of fear and panic. What's the word? Oh, yeah. Panic attack. Rated for child abuse and ONE swear word.


AN: I was inspired. 'Nuff said.

Panic Attack

I had never had a panic attack this big, ever. Sure, I got short of breath and scared sometimes, but never where I was full out sobbing, terrified in front of my friends. I was Wally West, Kid Flash. My friends always saw me as the unshakable, immature speedster. That was true, sometimes.

I was abused as a kid. By my father. Almost every day since I was six years old. I do my best to suppress the memories.

But sometimes I can't. Certain sounds, or scenes I'm looking at bring the memories back. If someone falls down, I feel my heart racing, my vision blurring, remembering my mother falling and never getting back up. The sound of someone hitting the wall during a fight, time slows and that one sound echoes in my ears distinct from the clamor of the rest of the fight.

Sometimes other people are there to help me, sometimes not. Thankfully this time, people were there, just not able to help. If I'm ever in a public place when this happens, someone always calls Uncle Barry to help me. This time I was in the Cave, with the rest of the Team.

We were getting ready to watch a movie, all six of us. Robin, Kaldur, Artemis, M'gann, Conner, and myself. We had everything set up, and M'gann was just bringing glasses for water into the main room. Then she tripped, and the glasses smashed on the Cave's floor.

Time immediately slowed, the sound of glasses smashing echoing in my ears. I could feel the memory poking at the edges of my mind. I let out a whimper, so quiet I was sure no one heard. Then I started shaking violently, Suddenly I was eight years old again, in my house's living room watching my parents have one of their fights.

0o0

"Rudolph!" my mother yelled. "You forgot our anniversary, AGAIN! What were you doing this time, huh? Getting smashed in a bar with your asshole friends?"

I remembered her being antsy and touchy the whole day. She was pretty annoyed with me the whole day, and I had no idea why. Now I knew. My father had forgot their anniversary for the third year in a row. My father had come home that night smelling like alcohol. My mother was immediately on him about it. They had been fighting for the past 10 minutes.

"Shu'h your mouf, Mary!" my father yelled back.

"NO! I have put up with this too long!". That was the last straw. My father suddenly lunged at her and smacked her right across the face. I jumped in front of him.

"No! Stop! She didn't so anything!" I shouted. He turned to me and kneed me in the stomach before giving me a punch to the face.

"Shu'h up, you bra't!"

He continued with the hitting for a while, I came out of it with a sprained wrist and some painful bruises and slap marks. I was quiet for some time, and I missed my meeting with Uncle Barry the next day.

0o0

Robin's POV

I heard the glass smashing and immediately looked toward M'gann. I saw that no one was hurt and turned my attention back to the living room. My attention was diverted again when I felt Wally trembling next to me. I frowned at Wally, checking him over. He seemed okay, except for the shaking and shortness of breath.

I frowned. Wally's breathing had been getting harsher, almost panting. He had a scared expression on his face, which was weird because the movie they were watching was a comedy. This was really weird. I elbowed Kaldur who was on my other side and motioned towards Wally.

Kaldur looked at Wally. He looked back at me.

"What is the matter with Wally?" he asked me.

"I don't know. It kind of looks like a panic attack," I said. Wally was showing some symptoms; shortness of breath, apparent dizziness, sweating, trembling, and scared expression.

My suspicions were confirmed when Wally let out a frightened whimper. I poked his shoulder, and Wally curled in on himself in response.

"What's wrong with Baywatch?" a girl's voice asked. Artemis had joined Kaldur and I near the couch.

"I don't know. It looks like he's having a panic attack. But I don't know why,"

"He's having a panic attack?" M'gann asked. She had come over after she finished cleaning up the smashed glass. I waved my hand in front of Wally's face, getting no response.

"He's not responding. I haven't seen one this bad since Speedy. Usually people having panic attacks get short of breath and blank out for a second. Wally's completely immersed, and it might take a lot to snap him out," I told them. "We might have to call in the Flash or Batman,"

"What's Baywatch got to have a panic attack?" Artemis asked disbelievingly. "His life's just peachy compared to the rest of us,"

"I guess he never told you guys," I said distractedly.

"Tell us what?" Artemis and Conner asked at the same time, while M'gann and Kaldur looked at me curiously.

"It's not my place to say," I answered. Artemis groaned in frustration.

'Robin to Watchtower. We've got a situation at Mt. Justice," I commed the Justice League.

"Green Lantern to Mt. Justice. What's the situation?"

"We need Batman and Flash to come to the Cave. It's Kid Flash,"

"Okay. We'll zeta them over now. Green Lantern out,"

Just then, Wally let out a little scream of pain. I looked at him worriedly. Wally continued to shake and cry out, and started to thrash around on the couch.

"No, stop!" he sobbed. "I'm sorry! I won't do it a-again, I promise! I-I'll just leave you alone!"

"What's he so scared of?" M'gann asked fearfully. I shook my head.

"We'll wait for Flash to get here. He'll help Wally,"

M'gann nodded, but she still looked unsure. Kaldur stayed calm, but Artemis and Conner looked confused and a little annoyed that they didn't know what was going on.

RECOGNISED: BATMAN 02, FLASH 04

Batman and Flash appeared in the zeta beams, Flash speeding over once he was Wally curled up and sobbing on the couch. Batman followed him more slowly.

"What did you do?" Flash cried. Batman silenced him and bent closer to Wally, with Flash flitting around nervously.

"It's clearly a panic attack. Something must have triggered it? Did anything happen?"

"Well, M'gann accidentally broke a glass," Kaldur offered.

"That could be it," Batman said.

"NO! Stop! Please!" Wally sobbed on the couch. Flash pushed Batman away, and I was worried that Batman would lash out, but surprisingly he let Flash sit next to his partner.

"Wally. You're okay, you're just in the Cave. Wake up," Flash said, trying to calm Wally down. Flash ran his hand through Wally's red hair in a calming sort of way. Wally stopped crying out but still sobbed a little and trembled. Flash sat there patiently stroking Wally's hair and whispering comforting things until Wally calmed down and fell asleep, worn out.

The whole team and Batman were watching with me, also seeming more relaxed once Wally fell asleep. They watched Wally and Flash with mixed expressions on their faces.

I walked up to Batman and stood beside him, watching the uncle and nephew.

Flash scooped Wally up into his arms and turned to Batman.

"I'm gonna take him home. Don't expect to see him tomorrow. We'll stay in Central where he'll be more comfortable," Flash said, and started walking toward the zeta beams. Soon the two speedsters had teleported away, the machine calling out the coordinates for Central City.

Artemis immediately turned to Batman and I.

"What was that about?" she questioned. The rest of the team also turned to me and Batman. I looked at Batman for permission. He nodded minutely, signaling that it it was okay, but not to overshare. I turned to the Team.

"Wally only told me because we've been best friends for years. It's not something his shared lightly. I'll only say a little. Wally's parents weren't very supportive, mainly his father. Wally's father was an alcoholic. He got very angry and always came home to Wally and his mother drunk. He took out his anger on Wally and his mom, since Wally was six. He still has nightmares about it. His father's in prison for his crimes, and his mother found someone new. Wally lives with his aunt and uncle in Central City," I told them, shuddering slightly.

Artemis and Kaldur got the full meaning, and drew back in horror. M'gann and Conner were more ignorant, but still got the horribleness.

"I never knew," Artemis whispered. "If I knew…"

"No!" I said. "That's exactly the reason he didn't tell you. He didn't want you to treat him differently. Don't treat him any differently when he comes back. He probably won't like me telling you, but I thought you should know,"

"We won't," Kaldur promised. I nodded in satisfaction.

"You've all had a surprising night. Go home and rest up for tomorrow," Batman ordered. He then patted me on the shoulder and walked with me toward the zetas. I waved back at the team as I exited with my mentor.

Gotham, Wayne Manor

Bruce and Dick entered the Batcave, and walked over to Alfred, who was waiting for them.

"Back already, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked in his prim british accent.

"Yup!" Dick said cheerfully. Then he quieted down a little. "Wally had a really bad panic attack,"

"Is young Master Wallace all right?" Alfred asked.

"Barry took him back to Central. He's taking the day off tomorrow," Bruce said, before walking toward the changing area to take off his costume. Dick followed him. A few minutes later Bruce and Dick were de-costumed and standing in the Batcave.

"Hey, chum? What do say to a movie night?" Bruce asked. Dick beamed at Bruce, and that was all the confirmation that he needed. They settled in the living room in front of the flatscreen together to watch the movie, laden with snacks and drinks.

About halfway through the movie, Dick started to nod off, exhausted from the day's events. Bruce smiled, a real smile, and pulled his sleeping son closer to him.

This is how it should always be, he thought, before drifting into a peaceful rest.

Central City, Allen Residence

Barry walked into the house, carrying Wally in his arms. Iris walked over, wiping her hands on her apron. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Wally, but snapped out of it and hurried over.

"What's wrong with him?" Iris asked.

"He had a panic attack at the Cave. I'm taking him upstairs to rest," Barry turned and walked toward the stairs to the upper level of the house. Iris nodded to herself and walked back into the kitchen, presumably to make dinner for them when Wally woke up.

Barry entered Wally's room and set him on the bed. Barry stroked Wally's red hair, deep in his own thoughts. He knew Wally still had nightmare about his parent's house, Barry heard Wally crying out in his sleep. Wally wasn't aware that Barry knew about his nightmares.

Barry hadn't been there for most of Wally's time with his parents, but he knew enough about what happened. Wally's father beat him almost every day, and when Barry rescued him, he was suffering from multiple unhealed injuries. Wally had already gotten his superspeed, and Rudy West starved Wally so his injuries couldn't heal.

Barry found out one day over the summer when Wally was 12. He immediately called the police, who took Rudy West to prison. Mary cut ties and moved away to Opal City. And, just because he wanted to, the Flash made a visit to Rudy West in Iron Heights. After that summer, Barry and Iris adopted Wally and he came to live with them in Central City. Wally was wary for months, and barely ate or slept. It was a rough time.

Barry shook his head, trying to clear his head on negative thoughts. He just contented himself with looking at Wally sleeping on his bed. He sighed. Wally was definitely getting better. Barry was tired from that day, and was soon fast asleep next to Wally. Iris, who was going to get the boys for dinner smiled and slowly backed out of the room.

In two different beds, across the country from each other, two boys smiled contently and snuggled closer to their fathers.

AN: I like Wally's backstory better where he was abused by his parents. It gives him character, and he's not just some average teenager with superspeed who decided to become a superhero compared to Robin and Artemis. Review?


End file.
